A small group of activists gathered in Long Island City’s Gantry Plaza State Park on Friday afternoon to participate in May Day Strong, which saw thousands of groups across the country partake in an “economic blackout” against Trump Administration policies to demand an end to ICE operations and a tax on the wealthiest members of society.
Friday’s event, organized by grassroots organization Indivisible Western Queens, featured a community potluck and voter registration tables as part of the nationwide activism, which called for “No Work, No School and No Shopping.”
The nationwide day of activism aimed to promote a campaign of “Workers over Billionaires,” which saw thousands of people call for “free and fair elections,” an end to ICE operations and a plan to tax the rich so that “families, not fortunes, come first.”
Organizers of the nationwide event said last week that May Day Strong aimed to precipitate economic disruption by bringing business to a halt and showing how powerful the working class can be.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.
A modest group gathered in LIC on Friday to join the nationwide event, with organizers providing a “community space” for people to abstain from work, school and shopping.
Devora Fein, a chapter member with Indivisible Western Queens and an organizer of Friday’s May Day event at the LIC waterfront, said the event aimed to build community in the neighborhood, adding that it was neither a protest nor a rally.
Fein added that Indivisible Western Queens decided to prioritize “protecting democracy” for the May Day Strong event, leading the organization to set up a voter registration table in the park where local residents could check if they were registered to vote.
“What we decided to do is zoom in specifically on the protect democracy demands from the May Day Strong coalition, and so we are registering people to vote,” Fein said Friday.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.
Indivisible Western Queens also organized a number of lawn games in Gantry Plaza State Park for the event as part of efforts to build a community in what she described as a “resistance” against Trump Administration policies.
“We also have a number of activities happening… that’s another effort to build community and to engage people in activities that will bring them in and hopefully keep them engaged in this resistance, because this is going to be a very long effort.”
Fein added that all efforts to register people to vote were non-partisan, stating that Indivisible Western Queens is keen to increase participation in the upcoming Midterm elections.
“We want to make sure that people are aware of the upcoming election, that they are aware of their registration status and to feel like they can be a part of this democratic system and use their vote to improve the democratic system,” Fein said.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.
Anthony Cappetto, another member of Indivisible Western Queens who joined the May Day Strong event in LIC, said the event aimed to reinforce the importance of participating in elections.
“In the United States, we are all created equal… Voting is the mechanism that makes that real,” Cappetto said.
Friday’s event concluded with a “visibility brigade” where community members held up a large chain-linked “Power to the Many” sign to signal their opposition to Trump Administration policies.
“There’s a push across the country for people to engage in visibility actions, to pull in people and let them know what it looks like when everyday people want to stand up to this fascist government that we are living under,” Fein said. “Just by having that message proclaimed, or hoping to get people interested, asking questions and to feel like they this is something that they could potentially want to be a part of.”
Community members work on the “Power to the Many” sign. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.